FIFA Council vote: World Cup to be extended to 48 teams

January 10, 2017

FIFA has unanimously voted for the World Cup to be extended from 32 to 48 teams from 2026 onwards.

The entire format will change, which sees 16 groups of three teams with the top two qualifying for the round of 32. The vote was made up of 211 members, who chose between 40 teams, 48 teams and the current 32 team format. The World Cup will host 80 games rather than the current 64.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is all for the format change, whilst the majority of the football world has unsurprisingly cried out in anger. FIFA will be set to make an extra $1 billion dollars from the World Cup.

Questions were raised after UEFA raised the teams from 16-24 in the European Championships.

Do you agree with FIFA’s decision to increase the teams at the World Cup?